If you are moving out of a home you’ve lived in for 10 – 50 years and have never decluttered it, I estimate it will take at least 60 days.
Why? Because 60 days will give you enough time to reflect on what brings you “love, joy, and happiness” or what can be passed on or repurposed.
Depending on whether you are moving locally or nationwide, the more you have to move, the more it will cost. And do you really need all that “stuff”?
Sorting through all your items is still a process, even if you have downsized before. As a senior move manager, I frequently work with seniors who are moving into a 1- or 2-bedroom apartment or condo. Often, many of their belongings simply won’t fit into their new space. So the process of sorting, selling, discarding, donating, and keeping is essential.
You will have to go through each room one by one. If you have never sorted through outdated documents, there will be tons of shredding to do.
Have you left the kids’ rooms the same way they were when they were kids and now they are married with children of their own? All of that stuff just piles up.
It’s fun to organize clear totes that I call “child’s name memory box”. There could be tee ball trophies, dolls, artwork, written poems, and more inside the totes. When your adult children come to visit, encourage them to take their memory box home with them. If they live out of state, you can take their memory boxes to them when you go to visit.
Though we help our clients create their own memory boxes for themselves. I try to limit it to a maximum of 5 totes. When it goes over 5, we have a discussion about what is really important to keep.
It’s also a good idea to ask your adult children if they want anything from the home. Most don’t, but as parents, we think they do.
In my experience, the sorting process takes the longest, due to having to go through every drawer, closet, cabinet, attic, or basement. Most people don’t realize how much stuff they have until they pull it out of those areas.
I am always decluttering my home. Whenever I bring something new into my house, I take something out. If I’m in my laundry room and feel something is out of order, I re-organize or get rid of items I never use or no longer want. The same practice applies to my entire house – it’s ongoing.
Our home is where we place our heart and keepsakes. So that is why we should go through everything and give ourselves time to reflect on and determine what is really important in our next chapter in life.
Complete Relocation Solutions provides full-service senior moves, packing/unpacking, decluttering, and home clean-outs in central Indianapolis including Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, Westfield, Noblesville, Greenwood, Avon, Brownsburg, and Anderson, IN. Call us at 317-514-9793